ALLEN PARK -- Is the nicer, nearly penalty-free Ndamukong Suh the same player as he was his first two seasons?

He's now learned how to play within the NFL rules, picking up just one penalty in the first nine games. Is this the reason the Detroit Lions defensive tackle has not been a noticeable difference-maker in games this season? Has his game changed?

Yes, he's had an impact in games. It just hasn't shown up in his numbers. Coaches can see his impact on film, fans can't always see it by just watching the game.

The Suh statistic that has changed for the better this season is his penalty total -- just one and it's for encroachment.

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Last year he had eight, his rookie year he was whistled for 11 penalties. He went to see NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last year to talk about the way penalties were called against him because he said the NFL had never seen a player like him. Shortly thereafter he stomped on Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith and was suspended for two games.

"I don't pay attention to (penalty numbers), I just play football,'' Suh said. "The thing for me is to go out there and have an effect on the game, you have to make sure you're within the rules or you're hurting the team. So that's my understanding of how I approach the game, make sure I never hurt the team.''

This is the new Suh, because last year he surely did hurt the team by the suspension.

"That was in 2011, This is 2012. Let's move on,'' Suh said.

Overall, Suh's statistics are lean nine games into this season, but they got a little fatter when a sack was added, at his insistence, three days after Sunday's loss at Minnesota.

He was taken aback after the Jacksonville game two weeks ago when he did not appear on the final score sheet because he had zeroes in every category including tackles.

Then he originally had just one tackle against the Vikings.

Of course, statistics don't tell the whole story. And on Monday, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Suh played in his best game as a member of the Lions against the Vikings.

"I think it was pretty good. Honestly, no performance is really good enough if you're not winning. I may have played well individually but ... it wasn't enough to help my teammates so we could win the game,'' Suh said on Thursday.

"It's nice to hear that from my coach, my head coach at that, but it's something that I can still build on,'' Suh said. "I'm not going to be complacent, never will be complacent. I'm going to work to help my teammates as much as possible going into this next game at Green Bay.''

In his third season with the Lions, Suh seems like a lightning rod for controversy. Some he's brought on himself -- like stomping on Dietrich-Smith last Thanksgiving and driving incidents including tickets for speeding and fender-benders. While suspended last year he drove his classic Chevy into a tree and fountain in his hometown of Portland, Ore.

He is a tough guy to get to know -- very quiet and reserved off the field. Even defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham pointed out a week ago that Suh has started to talk to people more. This is his third season in Detroit.

A second overall pick, he's not been elected a team captain by his teammates so far. (In comparison, this is Matthew Stafford's third season as a captain.)

Because of his stature and his contract (he's making $10.25 million this year), every element of Suh's game is examined. This is no different than Stafford, just the other side of the ball.

Suh said he's not sure why his stats have been so low for the last two games. In the last game defensive tackles Nick Fairley and Sammie Hill each were credited for four tackles even though they played less snaps than Suh.

"I couldn't tell you that, that's something you'll have to ask whoever is in charge of the stats, the statisticians,'' Suh said. "Film, in my eyes, never lies. That's what I believe and saw.''

The Elias Sports Bureau keeps the NFL stats and they awarded Suh the sack on Wednesday after he requested they review the play.

Schwartz and Cunningham always stand up for Suh and defend his play as something that doesn't always lend itself to the stat sheet.

However, when Suh was a rookie he finished with 10 sacks and 66 tackles and he was double-teamed starting with his first preseason game.

Last season he had four sacks and 36 tackles in 14 games.

So far he has 4.5 sacks and 15 tackles this season.

He was fired up about the lack of that sack and wouldn't talk to reporters like he usually does on Wednesdays. It's the only day each week that he speaks to the media.

Suh did apologize on Thursday for his disregard of the media on Wednesday.

The Lions play the Packers at Ford Field on Sunday. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, as part of its game preview, talked to an unnamed NFC scout about Suh.

The scout was quoted as saying: "He is one example of a football culture that coddles elite players and does not force them to push themselves for fear that the player will tune you out. ... Players like Suh do not demand excellence of themselves because they believe they can be excellent just by walking on the field. These players will underachieve by comparison to expectations."

Remember, it's anonymous, but scouts are usually well connected.

Suh has a chance to respond to that on the field on Sunday. Whether his effort will be reflected on the stat sheet is another question.